Dream House Wish List Ideas and Must Have Rooms

If that home you’ve sketched and furnished in your mind can actually be yours, what would your innermost wishes be for this home? Perhaps your secretly desired rooms align with Carrie Bradshaw’s vision of the perfect walk-in closet? Maybe you are thinking more along the lines of bringing out your inner Steven Spielberg with your own private media theater and viewing room?

From the simplest, most basic – yet creative – to the perfectly outrageous, there are a number of rooms and features that people desire in today’s dream home.

Our first in a two part series, starting with the interior, we uncover our users’ and home builders’ top 12 “wish” list.

1. Butler’s Pantry. We’ve all heard about the in-home chef’s kitchen with its huge island, cooking spaces and top-of-the-line appliances. Has Ellen DeGeneres ever remodeled a home without one? And it is now not unusual to find many new homes including some or all of these features and amenities. So what add to a kitchen that already seems to have just about everything? How about having everything within reach when you’re entertaining? Yes, the butler’s pantry is back!

A peek at the butler’s pantry from the kitchen island of this country house plan. (#165-1094)

2. Indoor Swimming Pool/Spa. Improved technologies and ventilation mean you can love the water all year round – without the rest of the home feeling damp or smelling like chlorine. Even better, today’s indoor pool often has plenty of amenities taken from the spa. Get a workout; relieve the stress. Whatever you do, it’s time to luxuriate in your own home’s indoor pool.

The furnishings around the pool enhance its attractiveness and appeal. (#126-1795)

3. Fitness Room / Home Gym. Who wants to sweat in front of everyone? If you have the resources, why not a Fitness Room/Home Gym available at your convenience?

The one-story mountain/country style plan (#161-1042) has abundant space for all the amenities, including an exercise room, media room, and wine cellar.

4. Hearth Room (Keeping Room). Curl up, keep warm, and relax in this cozy hearth room. Designed as a private space for family, it is comfortable, casual and inviting.

Among the amenities of this two-story, four-bedroom country house plan (# 165-1094) are the hearth room, sun room, deck, spacious kitchen, and butler’s pantry (see photo above).

5. Media Room / Home Theater. No time to go to the movies? Well, you can bring the movies to your home… theater.

No cheap seats here! The viewing is just fine from each stuffed chair in this home theater in this two-story four-bedroom Craftsman style plan. (# 161-1038)

6. Game Room / Bowling Alley. More space to spare in your huge basement? You already have a game room with a billiards table? So, how about a private bowling alley for you and your friends? You know the White House has one, don’t you?

Want to add a bowling alley to the Basement Game Room (#161-1034) of this five-bedroom Mediterranean house plan? How about something like the private bowling alley on the right?

The basement of this four-bedroom luxury house plan (# 161-1017) is ideal for entertaining with the home theater, game room, wine tasting area (adjacent to the wine cellar). Below is the floor plan illustrating the layout of the lower level of this lovely home.

8. A ”To Die for” Clothes/Shoe Closet. Even more outrageous than the revolving clothes/shoe closet in Clueless is this two-story version. Perhaps something that Carrie in Sex and the City had in mind?

9. Home Library. For your reading pleasure at any time of day or night. In order to build one a fraction of the size of the library at St. Florian Monastery in Austria …

… you have to start with this…

10. Mud Room.Whether you build your perfect home on the beachfront, the country, or a suburban neighborhood, a mudroom is a terrific addition.

A mudroom is included in the floor plan of this attractive four-bedroom Craftsman plan (#109-1191) – that is accessed from the garage or a side entry (Floor plan below).

11. Elevator. No matter how grand a staircase is… if you don’t plan to make a dramatic entrance, wouldn’t it be terrific to have an elevator? Perfect for lugging suitcases upstairs or if you just don’t have the energy for all those stairs…

A two-story, four-bedroom Tuscan house plan (#101-1353) with a magnificent staircase.

A two-story, six-bedroom luxury Colonial house plan (#106-1206) features an exterior double staircase from the second floor to the pool area. The Terrace floor plan (right) shows an elevator that allows easy access from floor to floor.

A craftsman style home with its own wood-paneled elevator (Plan #163-1047).

12. Panic Room/Secret Room. Satisfy your inner Nancy Drew or Harry Potter! Imagine leaning against a wall and stumbling into a hidden room. Ever wish you were part of “Dumbledore’s Army” rushing into the Room of Requirement, outrunning Malfoy and his cohorts?

Or, like Mitt Romney, take a page from the Jodie Foster movie – “Panic Room” – and build a similar room in your home.

A mirror on the wall opens into a vault.

What have we missed? Tell us about your most desired rooms for building your next dream home…

In Part II of this series, we will show you the top ranked, amazing “must haves” our readers and home builders came up as part of their wish list for exterior features and outdoor rooms to design into their future dream home.